Improvement in street-sweeping machines



S. EMLEN. STREET SWEEPING MACHINE.

No. 46,094. Patented Jan. 31, 1865 f .N a w Wnne'sses L inventor THE noRRvs PETERS c0 woruu'mo, wnsmncnm', a. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIC SAMUEL 'E'MLEN, or PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN STREET-SWEEPING MACHINES.

Specification forming part-of Letters Patent No, 16,094, dated January 31, 1565.

clarc that the following is a full, clear, and.

exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings and the letters of reference marked -there( )n.

The nature ot'my invention consists in so attaching a brush to a vehicle that the brush is vibrated by the rotation of the wheels in its progress along the, road, and during the vibration of the brush it. receives other motions, which-are hereinafter more fully explained, which tend to'tlic more etlicient cleansing of the roadway and the greater durability of certain of thewearing parts of the machine, a id at the same time avoidingthe dispersion of dust by the operation of the machine.

Figure 1- represents a plan, Fig. 2 represents a side elevatiomand Fig. 3 represents a rear elevation, of the machine. Fig. 4 exhibits the cam for operating the lifting motion of the brush, as will be found more fully explained hereinafter; i

A and A are the two wheels of the vehicle. 13 is the axle. O and U areinternal gearwheels secured to and-rotatin g with the wheels A and A. .D and 1) are pinions upon the cranked she it E, gearing into and receiving rotatory mo ion from the internal-gear wheels malt), and imparting rotary motionin one directio" when the vehicle progresses by means c the ra-tchcts 1 and 1 to the crankshal't l). The crank G in the shaft E operates a connecti g-rod, II, which moves an anglelever, I, bearing upon' the arm J'a brush, K, which is connected to-the arm J by means of the springs L and II This arm J is attached to the other portion of the lever I by means of a hinged joint, so as to permit the arm J and the brush ii. attached thereto, to be raised ttlltllthYOlOtl. 'laet'raming of the vehicle and shatts may bit of any of the known i'orms without'matei'ally modifying the construction or opera-tio ot' the machine.

The arm J of the lever lis supported by the slide M, which is fastened upon the le 'er N, and is raised and lowered by means of the cam 0 upon the crank-shaft E, and can also be raised and lowered by means of the lever 1?,

controlled by-the driver of the vehicle; Upon the sides of the arm J, in such a position as to strike t-heends ot' the slide M, are placed springs Q and Q, which, striking upon the ends of the-slide, produce-a jarring eit'ect upon the brush, the ett'ect of which motion is to shake out any dirt that maybe adhering to the bristles of the brush; Upon each side of the machine are suspended aprons 'l. and 'l", which prevent mud or dust from being thrown sidewise beyond the path of the-machine.

The operation of the machine is as follows Upon driving forward upon a road the wheels rotate, and by means of the gearing already described rotatethe crankshaft, which causes the brush to vibrate by means of the lever I and connecting-rod ll, and sweeps several times over the same ground by reason of the length of the brush being such as to cover several times the space traveled by the machine in one revolution of the crank-shaft, and thus brushes more efl'ectual-ly in the interstices of the pavement.

The arm J and brush K are raised at such intervals by means of the cam 0, so that the brush K is raised clear of the ground during its motion from the extremes of its vibration to its center of vibration, and is in contact with the ground during its motion from the center of vibration to the extremes of its vibration, and thus the dirt which may be on the ground is swept into rows on each side of the machine, from which it may be conveniently gathered and carted away. The arm J of the lever l, in vibrating, strikes, by means of the springs Q and Q, upon the ends of the slide and jars the dirt that may be adhering to the bristles l0ose,and the dirtis thus thrown against the aprons, whence it falls into the rows of dirt in the road.

When it is desired to pass over any portion of road without sweeping it, the brush may be raised by means of the lever P, and when the vehicle is backed the brush is allowed to rest by means of ratchets l and 1 allowing the pinions D and D to be rotated without imparting motion to the crank-shaft, and when one wheel of the machine revolves more rapidly than the other, as in turning a curve, the ratchets relieve the. crank-shaft from torsional strainby'permittin g the crank-. shaft to rotate with the pinion, which has the highest velocity in a forward motion, without compelling the other pinion to rotate any faster than the internal-gear wheel, into which it gears, moves it. The function of the springs L an L for attaching the brush to the arm J is to accommodate the brush toinequalities in the level of the roadway.

' In the operation of the machine as I have hereinbefore described it. the following novel and useful peculiarities are observable First, that the brush is made to act in both directions, thus avoiding a permanent set of the bristles, or their equivalent, in one direction, as is found to be the casein machines with retating brushes; second, that the same ground is brushed over several times by different parts of the brush, thus sweeping all parts traveled over by the machine, even although a portion of the brush may be defective third, that the brush is raised at regular intervals during its vibration, so that the dirt is swept from the center to the sides of'the path traversed by the machine; fourth, that the brushis raised. and jarred at each extreme of its vibrations fifth, that the dirt thus shaken from the brush is prevented from annoying others traveling upon the road by means of the aprons or curtains'covering the flanks of the machine.

set forth and described.

herein set forth and described.

5. Combining the aprons upon the flanks of the maehinewith a vibrating brush having lifting and jarring motions, as described.

6. Attaching the brush to the vibrating beam or arm by means of springs in the mode and with the efl'ect described.

7. The device for lifting the brush from the street-pavement by the hands of the attendant withont stopping the motion of the machine when said brush is vibrated and operated substantially in the manner hereinbefore SAML. EMLEN.

Witnesses:

ISAAC H. STEEVER, .J. H. GRAHAM.- 

